

Next, right-click that folder, click 7-Zip, then “Add to archive.” Once you have it up and running, gather all the files you want to zip up into a single folder, ready for compression. How to Create a ZIP Fileįirst up, download and install 7-Zip.

Popular opinion on this is split, but from our comparison between WinZip, 7Zip and WinRAR, 7-Zip came out marginally on top, taking into account the fact that it was free while you’d have to pay to use WinZip over the long haul. So while you shouldn’t expect to get much compression out of JPEGs, TIFF or RAW files can be squeezed down plenty, or WAV and AIFF files can compress quite a lot while MP3s can’t, so bear all that in mind.Īlso read: How to Zip and Unzip Files on Android (RAR, ZIP, 7Z) The fact is that some files compress much better than others.Īudio, video and image file types come in various formats, some of which are already heavily compressed, while others aren’t. It’s easy to assume that if you’re using good compression software, all the files you’re compressing will shrink by a fair amount. Here we’ll show you how to create a zip file that actually saves you space. But what are your experiences with creating ZIP files? If you’re like most people, then probably frustrating, as you struggle to compress the files as much as you’d like. ZIP folders are great, cramming their constituent files into one big happy package that’s bursting at the seams, ready to spill out onto your PC when you need to use them.
